Chapter 119: For Humanity! Dedicate Your Hearts!! Advance!!!
ZRRRT! Eren seemed to have predicted that Bertolt was the Colossal Titan. He was already on guard as he approached, and his reaction speed surpassed all human comprehension.
Wh-?!
Inside the half-formed Titan body, Bertolt registered the approaching glint of steel and let out a muffled, terrified shriek. He saw Eren's eyes through the steam—not hesitant, but filled with a cold, pitying killing intent.
SHINK! SHINK! SHINK! SHINK!
Eren's figure danced around the nascent Titan's core. His dual blades, reflecting the golden glow of the transformation, became silver lightning, slashing viciously into the forming flesh. He severed Bertolt's real arms and legs at the joints before his Titan power could fully manifest, before he could form any defense.
The Titan transformation process, violently interrupted by the dismemberment and agonizing pain, collapsed. The giant skeleton and muscles, losing their support, disintegrated in a deafening hiss of steam.
"AAAAAAHHHHHH—!!!"
The agony of the interrupted transformation and the sheer horror at Eren's reaction ripped a horrific scream from Bertolt's human body.
The others were still reeling from the shock that Bertolt was the Colossal Titan. Reiner and Annie, having just reached their designated positions, were about to execute their part of the plan when they witnessed the scene unfold in a fraction of a second. A chill shot down their spines.
Bertolt's transformation… was stopped? Just like that? By Eren Jaeger?! Severed limbs, transformation aborted?!
Reiner and Annie's pupils contracted violently. Eren's reaction, his timing, his instant strike against a transforming Titan… It was as if he knew Bertolt was going to transform.
Impossible! Absolutely impossible!!! When were we exposed?!
"Move!" Reiner no longer hesitated. He couldn't worry about that now. The Titan power absolutely could not be allowed to fall into the hands of these island devils. He made his decision and let out a low roar.
BOOM!
BOOM!
Two even larger, more brilliant bolts of golden lightning struck the top of the wall, right near the cannon emplacements, almost simultaneously. A massive shockwave and superheated steam blasted across the platform. The recently repaired cannons were effortlessly thrown, twisted, and melted. The Wall itself groaned.
From the smoke and steam, two massive figures rose. One, covered in bony armor. The other, relatively slender.
The Armored Titan. The Female Titan.
They appeared at the same time, under the horrified, disbelieving gaze of the soldiers on the Wall.
"What's that?! Isn't that where Reiner and Annie were?!"
"Reiner?! Annie?!"
"They're… Titans too?!"
"This is a joke, right?!"
"How can this be—?!"
Down below, Connie, Sasha, Jean, and the others, who had just been processing the shock of Bertolt's failed transformation, were now completely broken by the even more devastating sight on the Wall. Their comrades. The people they had trained and fought alongside. Bertolt, the guy with the weird sleeping poses but a gentle personality. Reiner, the dependable, rock-solid "big brother." Annie, the quiet lone wolf with terrifying fighting skills, who still had a kind heart deep down.
They were all man-eating monsters?!
Betrayal. Naked betrayal.
Rage, fear, disbelief, and the shame of being fooled exploded in the hearts of the 104th recruits, and even more so among the soldiers who had begun to fanatically follow Eren.
"DAMMIT!!! REINER!! ANNIE!! YOU'RE TRAITORS TOO?!!"
"WHY— WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS?! WEREN'T WE COMRADES?!"
"TRAITORS TO HUMANITY!!!"
"DEATH PENALTY!!!!"
Krista's face was pale, and she instinctively grabbed Ymir's sleeve. Ymir's expression was also more serious than ever. She looked at the two Titans on the Wall, then glanced at the collapsed remains of the Colossal Titan and the lone figure of Eren standing over them. Things have just gotten as bad as they can get… From their use of Titan powers and their transformations, she knew Reiner, Bertolt, and Annie were from outside the Walls. She knew some of the secrets about Marley, about the inheritance of Titan powers. She had hoped to live a quiet life with Krista, but now, that was all shattered. Eren's unbelievable power had stopped the plan, but it had also drastically escalated the conflict. The Marleyan Warriors were forced to expose themselves. The fragility of the world inside the Walls was about to be laid bare.
Ymir looked at the trembling Krista beside her, a mix of pain and resolve in her eyes. "Krista… listen. This island is too dangerous for you. They… Reiner and the others… maybe…" Maybe they can take you away? To that other cruel world outside the Walls?
Ymir's heart was in turmoil. She hated Marley, but Marley was strong. Staying inside the Walls was a dead end. For Krista's sake… she seemed to see the only possibility—
Just as Ymir was wrestling with her thoughts, on the Wall, the Female Titan threw back her head and let out a piercing, high-pitched roar that spread far beyond the Walls.
Instantly, as if receiving a command, in the vast plains outside Trost, on the far horizon, countless Pure Titans began to stir. The ground trembled. An innumerable horde of Pure Titans began to run, charging towards the now-endangered breach in Trost District.
…
Outside the Wall, in the fields.
A green torrent galloped at full speed. The Survey Corps. Erwin Smith was at the lead. He had caught the two violent tremors and roars from Trost, as well as the sound of Titans. And he saw the Female Titan on the Wall destroying the cannons. Then, he caught the heavier, more terrifying sound of a stampede from the horizon. His face, excited by the approach of the truth, instantly grew grim.
"Intelligent Titans? And they can summon or attract Pure Titans?!" Erwin's assessment of the situation was dire. There wasn't just one intelligent Titan inside the Walls—there were multiple. And they were enemies, with the ability to control or influence the Pure Titans. This was catastrophic.
"ALL TROOPS, FULL SPEED!!!"
"TARGET REMAINS THE TROST BREACH!"
"ALL SQUADS! CONCENTRATE YOUR FORCES ON THE INSIDE OF THE BREACH!"
"WE HAVE ONLY ONE MISSION: AT ALL COSTS, INTERCEPT, DELAY, AND SLAY THE TITAN HORDE ATTEMPTING TO ENTER THE BREACH! QUICKLY DEFEAT THE INTELLIGENT TITANS INSIDE THE WALL!"
"WE CANNOT ALLOW THE GARRISON FORCES TO BE TRAPPED AND ANNIHILATED!"
"FOR HUMANITY! DEDICATE YOUR HEARTS!!!"
"DEDICATE YOUR HEARTS!!!"
"ADVANCE!!!"
"ADVANCE!!!"
The Survey Corps roared in unison, spurring their horses on in a desperate charge.
Inside the city, intelligent Titans were about to clash. Outside the city, Pure Titans were stampeding. The battle for Trost had just escalated to a whole new level.